Footballer and commentator Stephanie Roche has announced that she is joining Dancing with the Stars which returns to RTÉ One in January.
She was in full festive spirit earlier today as she joined The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1. This morning’s show was broadcast live from Arnotts on Henry Street in Dublin. She was joined by Brian Redmond, one of the judges on the series, to tell Ryan Tubridy how preparations are going for series six.
“I’m excited and nervous to get started on Dancing with the Stars,” she said.
“This is a whole new experience for me and one that will definitely take me out of my comfort zone but I’m excited to learn to dance and to enjoy the whole experience.”
From Shankill in Dublin, Stephanie is one of Ireland’s best-known female footballers. The striker made her international debut in 2009 and has scored 14 goals over the course of her 58 appearances.
Today she plays club football for Peamount United. In her first season with them, Stephanie won the Golden Boot by scoring 26 goals.
Stephanie shot to fame in 2013 when her goal for Peamount against Wexford Youths was runner-up for the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year. The footage went viral with over five million views and brought big international attention. She was the only woman to be voted a finalist that year, alongside Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and James Rodriguez.
In 2017, she was front and centre of the group of Irish players who spoke out about the inadequate conditions that the women’s international squad faced.
She appeared on Ultimate Hell Week in 2021 and is a regular pundit and commentator on RTÉ soccer coverage.
She married her long-term partner, Dean Zambra in June and is just back from honeymoon in time to start her Dancing With The Stars training.
She will be bidding to emulate the sporting success stories of last year’s event won by Nina Carberry and with Ellen Keane also making the final.
